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Monday, 10 August 2015

Ready. Set. WRITE! Week #10

Welcome back to Ready. Set. WRITE! My co-hosts, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, Jaime Morrow, Elodie Nowodazkij, and I hope you’re looking forward to
yet another productive summer! If you’re new this year and you’re wondering
what RSW is all about, it’s a summer long writing intensive for writing,
revising, or planning your WIP. It’s also a way to keep each other accountable.
Every Monday we’ll share our posts,
keeping them brief in order to maximize our writing time and minimize on
blogging. Sign up on the linky at
one of the host blogs each week, and remember to visit other participants’
blogs to cheer them on as well. For more info on RSW and a link to our lovely
stash of buttons, click here.

●How I did on last week’s goal(s)

Not spectacular. I
got in 10 hours of revisions, which fell 2 hours short of my goal. During that
time I revised 3 scenes, but I’m contemplating bigger changes. We shall see. I
didn’t even touch querying, so my 4 hour goal on that was a bust.

●My goal(s) for this week

With the school year
coming up way too quickly, I’m scrambling to get curriculum done, and I’d like
to enjoy what little summer is left with my family, so I need a lighter week. Instead of a time goal, I'm planning to tear apart and rearrange a group of three scenes. And if querying happens, it happens.

●A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I
wrote/revised

It isn’t
fair.

They deserve
better than this.

We all do.

I stumble
through the dark to our bedroom, like [girl] lost in the hallway. Dizzy and frantic and
searching for some way out of this choking fury, I clutch my head and spin in circles until suddenly, in a violent frenzy, I shove everything off my bedside
table. It all goes crashing to the floor. The clang of metal and smash of glass adds to the roaring in my ears. A sob rises from that deep
abyss inside me where I’ve buried all my pain for so long. It gushes up like
hot lava, searing my throat. I throw myself on the bed and yell
into my pillow, but no matter how much I cry, I can’t purge it. There will
always be more.

They say
love conquers all.

If only that
wasn’t a blatant lie.

●The biggest challenge I faced this week

This was one of those
weeks where the universe, evil jerk that it is, tried to thwart me at every
turn. A long string of distractions made it hard to build up any momentum. Some
of those distractions were good though. Our new furniture finally arrived. We
got rid of our old stuff before moving, so we’d been sitting on a bench to
watch TV for the last two months. Having a couch and comfy chairs is heaven.
Also, my husband’s birthday was this weekend, so cake baking and celebrating
was priority (we went on a BEAUTIFUL hike through a forested park by the Atlantic Ocean and then for a tasty seafood dinner).

●Something I love about my WIP

That it’s dark and harrowing and melancholy, but at the same time it’s
funny and hopeful too. At least, I think it is, and I’ve tried my damnedest to
make it that way. To me, that balance in a story is important. Those light, humorous
bits offset the grim parts and give them more impact.

Thanks for another round of
lovely comments last week, ladies! You really have been my tether to the
writing world during this transitional summer. Some of you asked to see photos
of our dining room’s makeover into a library, and while I’d love to post pics
of the finished result, the middle of the room is currently filled with paint
supplies and boxes of Ikea stuff that still needs to be put together. In short,
it’s a mess. But I did snap this shot of our new chair in the reading corner. I
anticipate devouring many a book and writing many a chapter there. Love it.

And now it’s time to announce the winner of our latest RSW giveaway. The
participant who won the writer’s care package I put together is…

This week’s giveaway package was compiled by the awesome Alison Miller.
Check out all the fun goodies, like that fantastic Jane Austen air freshener! How
cool is that? Enter on the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Remember,
you get one vote for each week of RSW participation, and the contest is open
internationally.

17 comments:

Hey 10 hours of revising is still serious time put into it so cheers! Taking more time to enjoy the remainder of summer is a great idea and it will be almost like fresh new eyes when you dive back into it :)

Oh wow I'm glad you got furniture. Comfy chairs and couches are a must for sure. You got those scenes this week no problem.

Congrats Tonja!

*on the giveaway for this week I accidentally clicked week 3 (the one week I skipped) while trying to click week 2. I left week 2 alone to counter balance, sorry clumsy clicking*

Oh no! What has happened in your WIP? Everything was going so well with the kissing a few weeks ago and now this?! Haha I LOVE the writing but want to know more :) Ah, the universe. It likes to mess with us all. Hope you have a wonderful week and good luck for your goals and some relaxing family time!

Yes, 10 hours of revision is still a lot! And way better than none at all, particularly when you've been so busy as it is--and I'd say celebrating your husband's birthday was a wee bit more important. ;) (Sounds like you had a great day though!)

I love your reading corner! Really does look like a nice, cosy place to curl up with a good book.

That's a really powerful excerpt, again I'm absolutely itching to find out more...

Um... I think you made tons of progress! And sounds like those distractions were very good distractions. Also, a hike near the Atlantic and then seafood? I'm very jealous of this new location of yours. :)

Love the excerpt, as always, and I really loved this: "Those light, humorous bits offset the grim parts and give them more impact." Yes, yes, YES. Hope you have a great week, Erin!

Yay to new furniture! When I moved into my first apartment, oh so many years ago, I barely had anything. I still look back (somewhat) fondly on my storage box TV stand and the many hours I crouched on the floor with my laptop, but so glad I have actual furniture now :)

I read a quote recently about how you make things hell for your readers and then for just a second you make them laugh. (I wish I could remember it exactly- I even searched on twitter but I couldn't find it.) Sounds like you're doing that. I loved the excerpt, especially those last couple of lines!Have a great week!

Yay! So excited about the package. Thanks :)Congrats to the new furniture and happy birthday to you husband! With all that going on, I think you did great with your revising this week. And I loved the excerpt, especially the last two lines.

10 hours of revising is something to brag about, lady! Good work :) Also, we feel you about scrambling to work on curriculum with the school year creeping up on us. We're about to start teaching courses as well and are working on syllabi and course materials--blah. Good luck this week!

Definitely make time to enjoy the summer before school starts back up! I love that excerpt--you really dug into the emotion there and it seems like a really cathartic scene. Good luck on revising this week! :)

That b-day celebration sounds like THE BEST!!! Hike + seafood dinner is how I'd like to spend all my birthdays. Taking note for the future!

It seems a lot of us had an unintentionally lighter week, and I hope you're feeling as okay with is as I am. It felt right, especially when important family time is the reason for it. Good luck attacking those three scenes this week. You got this!

Your library looks delightful, Erin. The light is lovely, and so is that adorable chair! Your excerpt is excellent -- totally made my heart hurt, but in the best way. Best of luck with your goals this week, lady! Cheering you on from Virginia!

Because we unschool and don't use curriculum, you'd think I'd be breathing easily right now - but, because we unschool, we're year-round, and I've got 2014-15 end of year paperwork to file, and 2015-16 paperwork to get underway - egads, it's kind of like a paperwork avalanche....

May we both get through what needs to be done.

Ten hours of revision, new furniture, cake, hiking and seafood sound like plenty to fill up a week. Kudos! =)